A rediscovery

Artists of the early 20th century found inspiration in traditional African arts and crafts, the forms, elements and motifs of which led them to build avant-garde styles in the development of modern art — the most famous include Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

The exhibition, African Art: A New Rediscovery, at Tsinghua University Art Museum until Dec 15 embarks on a time travel expedition to 18th and 19th century Africa, to see why objects of daily life back then attracted the foremost figures of modern art in Europe.

More than 200 works are on display to introduce the messages embodied in these objects and how people at the time interpreted the rules of the world, divinity and humanity. The aesthetics appropriated in the work of modern artists have continued to impress people today.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Lu, Haidian district, Beijing.010-6278-1012.

Interwoven visions

The works of nine French and Chinese academicians of the Academie des Beaux-Arts are now on display at Chengdu Museum in the provincial capital city of Sichuan province to trace the exchanges between the two cultures since the 20th century.

Paintings, sculptures, drawings and watercolors are on show at Interwoven Visions, an exhibition running through Dec 15, which displays the diversity of the creation of artists in China and France and the breadth and scope of their minds that have built a bridge linking the people of the two countries.

The early 20th century saw young Chinese people going to France to study art who later returned home to contribute to the cultural development of their country. That close relationship between the two countries continues today.

9 am-5 pm, Tuesdays to Thursdays, 9 am-8:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays. 1 Xiaohe Jie, Qingyang district, Chengdu, Sichuan province. 028-6827-7011.